Revolver, the Beatles’ seventh album, is their greatest overall achievement and the dividing line between their Early and Late periods of work. (You could also say it’s the peak of their Middle period if you wanted to divide their career … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Revolver

If the Beatles had disbanded prior to the release of Rubber Soul, their sixth album, they would be remembered, if at all, as a talented pop group of the early Sixties with a tremendous amount of songwriting talent and innovation. … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Rubber Soul

Help! was rather a struggle for me to find a way into reviewing it. While trying to get a handle on what I wanted to say, I asked my twenty something son what he thought of it. “That’s my favorite … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Help!

There’s no denying that Beatles For Sale, the band’s fourth album, is a bit of a comedown from the first three. The exuberance of the earlier records is muted, and the overall tone is sadder and a bit cynical. In … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles — Beatles For Sale

Britney Spears 5th Album is classic pop. It’s as far from an auteur piece as possible, it had so many producers that it’s credit list would be the same length as a Hollywood blockbuster. It was the music industry at … Continue reading Album Spotlight – Britney Spears : Blackout

With their third album, A Hard Day’s Night, the Beatles met the challenge of providing a film soundtrack for the first time, and despite the time they were putting in making the movie, the result is one of their finest. … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—A Hard Day’s Night

One could be forgiven for expecting that the Beatles’ second record wouldn’t be as groundbreaking as their first. But the group avoided the dreaded sophomore slump with their album With the Beatles, released November 23, 1963. Coming off of two more … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—With The Beatles

It was fifty-five years prior to this date of publication that the main recording session for the Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, took place. As Mark Lewisohn, the Beatles’ foremost biographer, later wrote, there have scarcely been 585 more … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Please Please Me

Nothing from Donuts will ever be performed at a concert. Time is the donut of the heart. The track “Lightworks” samples electronic pioneer Raymond Scott, who composed music for Looney Tunes and built some of the earliest synthesizers. His most … Continue reading Album Spotlight: J Dilla – Donuts

Christmastime is here again/Ain’t been round since you know when… —The Beatles Did you know that the Beatles recorded a Christmas album? They did. Unfortunately, it wasn’t filled with their covers of songs like Good King Wenceslas and Rudolph The … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles Christmas Album

The Beastie Boys’ landmark sophomore album Paul’s Boutique is a bit hard for me to write about. It is a dizzying album that I’ve lived with for so long, yet I still feel like I have yet to unlock all … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique

I like noise. I like big-ass vicious noise that makes my head spin. I wanna feel it whipping through me like a f*cking jolt. We’re so dilapidated and crushed by our pathetic existence we need it like a fix. – … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy (1985)